Story of Anzac Day

Anzac Day commemorates the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War.

On 25 April 1915, soldiers of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) landed on the Turkish peninsula of Gallipoli. They met fierce resistance from the Ottoman Turkish defenders and what had been planned as a bold move to knock Turkey out of the war quickly became a stalemate. 

The campaign dragged on for eight months at a cost of more than 8000 Australian lives. But while the military objectives of the Gallipoli campaign were not achieved, it represented a defining moment in the history of a young nation. And the heroism, mateship and determination of Gallipoli’s Anzacs became legendary.

War correspondent and historian Charles Bean described it thus: “Anzac stood, and still stands, for reckless valour in a good cause, for enterprise, resourcefulness, fidelity, comradeship, and endurance that will never own defeat.”

On 25 April, we remember the service and sacrifice of all Australians in wars 
and conflicts. 

Lest we forget.